Well It Looks Like I'd Have To Do Company Sponsored Training At This Point..
Topic 12469 | Page 1
"Accredited"....to me means nothing. Not for trucking school anyway.
You may be "stuck" with a company but you will likely have better equipment to work with. My schooling is basically free but our trucks are out dated. So there's positives and negatives there.
Miqote said this about that:
I very much wanted to go through private school training rather than company training because I am of the impression that they could treat you any old kind of way that way.
Who treats who how? Are you saying company schools will chew you up and spit you out?
Miqote heard something else from a recruiter:
Recruiter lady was telling me she's heard horror stories of companies having a ton of people in one room trying to learn
Miqote, some true wisdom for you: never, like in "I'm gonna win the lottery!" never, ever never believe what a salesperson/recruiter says about any other company but their own. Any questions?
Now, I can't tell if you know this secret: Trucking Companies will often cover your tuition if you higher on. You can find that out now, and get Pre-Hire letters. Get some of those first, talk again to your co-signer, and apply to Truck Driving Schools, and even Company-Sponsored Training , because it ain't all that bad.
Here's some help:
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Miqote...I looked into paying for a private school. The local schools in Albany NY all charged about 6k. I didn't have the money. Roehl offered to help me get my CDL in exchange for driving for them for 120,000 miles. It was, for me, a no brainer I've never been the type to job hop....nor do I "major in minors" as my father used to say. In other words I don't let little things bother me. I still drive for Roehl and enjoy it every day.
I would think if your goal is to get your CDL A license and drive for a living, how you reach it is of no consequence. Good luck chasing your dream.
Oh and by the way, school recruiters will bad mouth company sponsored programs just to get you to fork over the tuition to them. I experienced that when I researched schools.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
I suggest you forget all the "TSBS" you've heard and go with Company Sponsored Training for these reasons...TSBS is Truck Stop Bull****..!
1) No cost major cost's upfront and after a year it's free
2) Better equipment and a 1 to 1 training ratio after orientation
3) You'll already have a Job once you finish the training program plus know the system, dispatcher and most importantly some of the customers you'll eventually be dealing with when you go Solo
4) Paid On the Job Training...Prime Pays $700 a week while in TNT
5) More depth of instruction and time to practice/learn backing before you go Solo
Ken C.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
I went to my local college for my cdl , it was easy enough to qualify for a grant or student loan. If you leave early and do not hold up your end of the training contract they have you sign, then yes you will have to pay for the training they gave you. It costs money to train someone and they are not in the habit of giving away free training so you can decide later you don't want to work. There is no free training, either you pay cash for it or you work it off.
Phil
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Miqote, the company-sponsored programs may be a little faster paced but most of your thoughts on them are either from recruiters trying to steer you away from them or misconceptions that are common in the industry.
In fact, Miss Miyoshi just yesterday informed us of the The Sad Realization Of My CDL School and that's a private school she's going to.
I'd say we get just as many complaints, if not more, about private schools. They do indeed tend to have terrible equipment to learn on and they're often family owned and very tight on funds which can lead to a series of other problems like a lack of time in the truck or "favorite" instructors that the schools keeps around even though they clearly don't have the personality for teaching.
And you don't have to worry about being on the hook for the cost of schooling because you're not going to quit before the contract is up anyhow, right?
They'll advertise $0 for training but you stuck with them and if you leave early you owe them
And think about this:
On one hand you have this gigantic, best in class, billion dollar company with thousands of brand new trucks, strong finances behind them, and decades of success at the highest level in this industry.
On the other hand you have some random, unproven wannabe straight off the street who will soon be the most dangerous person on America's highways if they even make it to that point. And whether or not they ever pan out it's going to cost a ton of time, money, and people to attempt to train this person.
Now who would you say should be worried about being stuck with the other?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
I just posted a long post about the problems I'm having with my local CDL school. The link for it is HERE. I would suggest you read throught that and my follow up responses. Now, it's likely that my personal experience is a unique one, but there's a large likelihood that it's not an uncommon one.
I made the decision to go to a local CDL school because my confidence level was a little low, and I was worried about quitting my job to go to company paid training. What if I failed? Could I get my old job back? Maybe I should do it part time near home so I don't have that risk? It was a gamble that is NOT paying off. I realize now that I DO have the confidence to pass everything, if given the opportunity to receive the training I'm currently paying for, but not getting.
Consider how much a company is investing in you, ahead of time, sight unseen, and all they want is a one year commitment. If you can't see yourself doing that, then maybe it's not for you.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
I came to prime after a recommendation from a friend. I researched and researched. A friend of mine decided on a local school. He signed a contract for !5000 and had the same experience as miss myoshi. He then got the contracted voided out with a lawyer and went to a second local school. The recruiter at his school told him it was in noway possible that I was OTR already so I took pics of the qualcomm with my name and driving time/miles. He is now trying to dump that school and come to prime using me as a reference.
I can understand your apprehension... we all do. My experience with this company is that no one has the right to treat you badly. You will be one on one with a trainer for a few months...some people have one the entire time or two for the different pass of training PSD vs TNT. Both my trainers were great people. But.. I also know if I had a problem with one. . Prime would have gotten me off that truck and hooked up with someone else. If that is your c9ncern..I assure you th ere are enough prime employees on this site to attest to that.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Qualcomm:
Omnitracs (a.k.a. Qualcomm) is a satellite-based messaging system with built-in GPS capabilities built by Qualcomm. It has a small computer screen and keyboard and is tied into the truck’s computer. It allows trucking companies to track where the driver is at, monitor the truck, and send and receive messages with the driver – similar to email.PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
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I really disapointed because there is a good local school for trucking. They are accredited and everything but I can't get a cosigner for the loan I need to get in. I very much wanted to go through private school training rather than company training because I am of the impression that they could treat you any old kind of way that way. They'll advertise $0 for training but you stuck with them and if you leave early you owe them. Would suck of the job is horrible. And the recruiter lady was telling me she's heard horror stories of companies having a ton of people in one room trying to learn and it's a bug cluster crap of mess.
IDK, I know I sound harsh, and I'm sure many people have gone the company route to learn trucking but I REALLY wanted to go to an accredited school to get my education. But it seems out of reach now.
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.